When it comes to body products, I usually love lotions and body butters that smell great from indie, artisan or prestige brands. Even though I have been trying out lots of new body products this winter and have quite a stash of old favorites that do a good job when I first apply them, I decided to do some exploring on my own for a body moisturizer that could help my extra dry, crepey, itchy, winter skin. Ugh. What I was searching for is a longer lasting body hydrator.
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BTW, it turns out that one of the key factors in dry, crepey skin is damage from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. UV light breaks down elastin fibers that support the skin. Too bad I didn’t know that when I was younger. Also, aging. The beginnings of dry, crepey skin occur in one’s 40s as collagen production begins to slow. Start early with sunscreen and moisturizer all over. And exercise definitely can help keep crepey skin at bay.
Another issue is the skin’s moisture barrier. That is something that I am often concerned about when it comes to my face, but I hadn’t thought about it for the skin on my body. I remember googling something, probably “how to treat dry, crepey skin” and information on the skin’s barrier came up.
Ingredients for treating dry, crepey skin included the usual suspects:
- hyaluronic acid
- antioxidants
- retinol
- lactic acid and glycolic acid.
For strengthening the body’s skin barrier, ceramides were mentioned. I have used products with ceramides on my face, but I never thought of ceramides as body care ingredients, though it makes sense. In the list of body lotions that contain ceramides, I came across Aveeno Skin Relief Moisture Repair. When I went to CVS to pick up a prescription, I looked for it. Aveeno Skin Relief Moisture Repair Cream, Intense Moisture, Helps Heal Very Dry Skin. With Triple Oat Complex & Ceramide. That’s it.
It came in a big tub that holds 11 oz. of off white, fluffy, fragrance-free cream.
The Aveeno website shows that it also comes as a lotion in an 18 oz. pump bottle. Everything at CVS is overpriced, and if I remember correctly, the price at my local CVS was $15.99 for the tub. I had a 40% off coupon, so that made a big difference.
Here’s how the Aveeno website describes Skin Relief Moisture Repair:
With sensitive, very itchy, extra dry skin, you need more than just moisturization. The Aveeno® Skin Relief Moisturizing lotion is clinically proven to balance skin’s microbiome, and helps to heal extra dry skin. It also moisturizes for a full 24 hours and soothes itchy, extra dry skin nurturing your skin from day one.
According to Aveeno, it is the oat prebiotic complex that balances the skin’s microbiome. The site goes on to describe other ingredients and benefits of the cream:
Help is on the way for extra dry skin. This therapeutic oat-based formula with ceramide and rich emollients helps restore the moisture barrier for extra-dry skin. AVEENO® Skin Relief Moisture Repair Cream is also clinically shown to deliver intense hydration that lasts for a full 24 hours.
I have been using Aveeno Skin Relief Moisture Repair Cream for just over a month, and I must admit, it has made a difference. If I shower in the morning and apply it afterwards, my skin still looks and feels supple and not crepey when I go to bed at night. If I shower at night and apply it, my skin still looks and feels good the next morning. I can still feel Aveeno Skin Relief Moisture Repair on my skin after 12 or more hours. The other body lotions and butters that I love for their scent or texture just don’t seem to last as long as this one does on me.
Although Aveeno Skin Relief Moisture Repair isn’t an exciting body product, it’s effective. I looked at the ingredient list, and it has a couple of ingredients that I usually avoid: petrolatum and methylparaben.
Ingredients: Water, glycerin, distearyldimonium chloride, petrolatum, isopropyl palmitate, cetyl alcohol, dimethicone, avena sativa (oat) kernel flour, avena sativa (oat) kernel oil, avena sativa (oat) kernel extract, ceramide NP, butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, benzyl alcohol, methylparaben, steareth-20, sodium chloride
But it makes my skin look smoother, plumper, and hydrated, and my skin feels unbelievably soft for hours and hours. I checked out the ingredient list of another contender, CeraVe Moisturizing Cream, and it too contains petrolatum (but not methylparaben), so maybe I will try that one next time (it contains 3 different ceramides). (Both the Aveeno and CeraVe also contain dimethicone, if that’s an ingredient that you can’t tolerate.) It’s confusing because dermatologists still seem to recommend products with petrolatum and parabens.
Aveeno Skin Relief Moisture Repair Cream and Lotion are widely available at Amazon, Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreens and more. FYI, it is priced at $5 higher at CVS, boo!
What are you using to keep dry skin at bay this winter?
Since you like indie and artisan brands, please check out Ravish Soap at https://ravishsoap.com. Sign up for emails and get 10% off and free shipping is often featured. You will like the ingredients, variety and the magnificent natural fragrances. Check out social media too. https://www.instagram.com/ravishsoap/ and https://www.facebook.com/ravishsoap. I highly recommend trying the bar soaps, body butter, body scrub and the shampoo bars.
Thank you, Mary, for reminding me about Ravish Soap! You told me about it a while ago, and I forgot. Now I followed them on FB & IG so I won’t forget! I will try the ginger & amber soap for sure. And I will try one of the body butters, but haven’t decided which one yet. Love their cute packaging too 😍❤️💕
I haven’t tried this moisturizer, but I love the Aveeno oat masks. They are really wonderful and very gentle so you can use them even when your skin is feeling super stressed.
I had no idea that Aveeno made masks!!I will remember that. I don’t have a ton of experience with Aveeno. I used the oat bath soak when I had hives quite a while ago, and though it definitely helped, it made a mess of my bathtub. I bought an Aveeno daytime moisturizer but I hated it. It was a mineral sunscreen and it was so thick I felt like I was wearing spackle. I was surprised at how much I like the body cream because it’s so light and fluffy but long lasting and hydrating. I will look for the mask next time!
Aveeno can definitely be hit and miss, but I won a basket that contained two of the oat masks, figured… what the heck, why not try them, and wound up thinking they were great! Sorry about your tub. Yikes!
That’s the best way to learn about the good stuff!